VERO BEACH — The competition was intense, but in the end, Chef Leanne Kelleher of The Tides, sliced, diced and spiced her way to the coveted title of Vero’s 2012 Top Chef Monday night. Kelleher bested her other contenders, Chef Chris Bireley of Osceola Bistro, Chef Chad Darwent of Hale River Market and Chef Jay Herman of Pipa Movida at the Vero’s Top Chef Challenge benefit the Homeless Family Center event, held Monday night at The Club at Pointe West.
Chef Chad Darwent of Hale River Market was voted in to the runner-up position, and each of the competitors had already cooked their way into the finals at the delicious Top Chef Qualifier event in January. At that event, Gina Battle, owner of Faith Hope and Chocolate, was crowned the 2012 Top Chef Dessert Champion. She returned to the finals to sweeten the deal with a lush Belgian chocolate silk mousse dessert topped with raspberry Chambord whipped cream.
But before dessert, the sold out crowd of 146 guests had already dined on a host of culinary delights. Diners had been kept in the dark as to who had prepared the dishes, so the voting was exclusively based on taste, presentation and creativity.
Dinner began with pan roasted tenderloin of beef with a slow braise of short rib and layers of root vegetables. Two fish dishes followed – grilled local pompano with truffle potato croquette and shiitake mushrooms, and lobster with chanterelle mushroom ragout and root vegetables. The final dish was a comforting combo of slow braised back rib osso bucco with Yukon gold whipped potatoes. And each of the dishes had been paired with a special wine from wine sponsor The Bottle Shop.
Gordon Food Services once again generously donated all the top-quality food for the chefs to work their magic. Dan Gordon, CEO of the largest family-owned food service distributor in the United States, is a part-time resident of Vero Beach and during the cocktail hour said he knew many of the chefs in the qualifier and challenge.
“Several of our customers are competing,” said Gordon. “It seemed like a good thing to support them. Not to mention the charity; it is such a worthy organization. It’s easy to support.”
As Host Chef, Chef Andrew Keller, 2011 Top Chef, gave over his kitchen to the competitors this year. The heavy prep work had all been done in each individual chef’s kitchen and was then transported for the final presentation. The whole process was carefully choreographed as about 25 chefs and their assistants put the final touches on their creations with a hub of organized chaos.
Michele Hennessey, 2009 Vero’s Top Chef and the event’s Chef Coordinator, was joined by Keller and 2010 winner Chef Nick Bradbury, Sous Chef at Quail Valley River Club as Top Chef Judges for the final competition. Their votes were weighted with votes from the diners for the final decision.
“This year is very exciting,” said Hennessey. “It’s very different to be doing it from the other side; watching it come together and having all these new competitors,” said Hennessey, admitting with a laugh that it felt a bit odd not to be wearing her chef whites.
“I think it’s a tiny bit more competitive. We all talk about it and everybody takes it seriously. It brings together a real camaraderie of the chefs and their crew; everyone has a common goal. There’s a sense of excitement in the air; it’s nice to see some of these guys a little nervous. And it brings a lot of name recognition to the charity.”
As sated diners awaited the votes, Lorne Coyle, Homeless Family Center executive director thanked sponsors, participants and event chair Neda Heeter, and reiterated the real reason for the event, “It’s all about the food and the families.”
The Homeless Family Center, locally the only emergency and transitional center, currently houses 22 families, but there is more than double that number on the waiting list. Coyle said he estimated the event would generate enough money to take care of their existing families for one whole month. The average stay at the center is nine months, and the cost to feed, house, case manage and job counsel one client is $31 per day.
He related the story of one young mother at the center, now working to get her life back together saying, “When the mom came in, she shyly asked if we had any size-five diapers for her 4-year-old, who wasn’t potty trained. Because, how do you potty train a child when you’re living in a car?”